I am a desperate mother. There, I said it. I’m often in over my head and surrounded by chaos. But I’m also blissfully happy and passionate about my role as a mother. I know from first-hand experience how complicated it is. We are continually being pulled in so many directions, trying to focus on our children while still caring for ourselves and developing as individuals. No mother can be at peace unless she feels she is giving her children her best self, but this desire often means we sacrifice our own well-being. We then find ourselves exhausted and unhappy. I am passionate about helping mothers find more joy and helping them be the mother they want to be for their children. After years of supporting and teaching mothers and being a mother to five beautiful children myself, I have a specific message that will help you be your best self for your children, your spouse, and yourself. I don’t believe in balance. Once you have children, balance goes out the window, along with sleep and the ability to go to the bathroom alone. I won’t be teaching you how to have it all or live a life without the chaos of opened jars of Nutella left behind your couch. I’m not going to tell you that you can do everything and still be the mother you want to be. What I will do, is share the universal principles that have helped me, and other mothers, find more joy and peace in motherhood, while still progressing and pursuing dreams.
Laura had a unique experience of advocating for and helping Mothers at Harvard Business school (HBS) for five years while her husband pursued his doctorate. During those five years of living in student housing at the HBS campus, Laura was engaged in organizing with the families on campus. She spent her days listening to and advocating for the needs of mothers, students, and partners of students on campus. Because of her active volunteerism in supporting mothers and children, Harvard’s administration approached Laura and assigned her to council and organize with the many student mothers who spanned the gamut of diversity: ethnically, economically and with varying life circumstances. This experience exposed her and taught her about the complexities that student, working and or stay at home mothers face daily. She became keenly interested in motherhood and how to best support the mothers at Harvard. She thrust herself deeper into the work and became engaged in the school’s women’s organization, learning from female leaders from all over the world. She saw a great need to offer more support to not just mothers but to parents and their children. Identifying this need, she met with and negotiated with the administration to allow her to start a new organization for families on campus that focused on supporting student families. It was an uphill battle getting funding and gathering support from the administration, but Laura was able to form HBS’s first ever, family-centered student organization titled Crimson Parents. There were many elements of this organization that reexamined how to best support student parents at Harvard. She helped establish an arts program for children, a mentorship program for new families, special events for student parents and many community events to build and establish support systems for families.
Through these transformative changes in the community that linked her passion for speaking and her talent in helping families connect, Laura garnered the support from her peers to launch a Parenting Speaking Series. The Parenting Speaking Series was a series of workshops that focused on helping those in attendance with the tools and resources to be better parents. Bridget Sullivan, the President of PBS, attended the Parenting Speaking Series and praised it for “being an incredible idea with content that really helped families.” Through the years after successfully establishing Crimson Parents, Laura has continued to mentor this group and is asked regularly to speak to the mothers at HBS. She believes in the importance of community for families and deeply loves helping parents find a way to be a happy thriving family.
“Developing as an Individual Within Motherhood”
“It takes a Village: How to build and create a community of Support for you and your family
“ How to have way more Fun as a Mother”
“What I learned about Motherhood at Harvard Business School”
“Creating your tribe, the importance of Mom Friends how to develop them and cherish them”
